Celanese (NYSE:CE) Raised to “Neutral” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Celanese (NYSE:CE) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $130.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $156.00.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Celanese from $171.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Celanese from $161.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Celanese from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Celanese from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a market perform rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Celanese in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $157.87.

Celanese Price Performance

CE stock opened at $126.43 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $13.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.30. Celanese has a one year low of $110.76 and a one year high of $172.16.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.33). Celanese had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Celanese will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. Celanese’s payout ratio is 15.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Celanese during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Celanese during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 142.1% during the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Celanese during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Company Profile

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics.